Thursday, April 17, 2014

Heads up for Steve Magay's & Dax's Kayaw!

Heads up for Kayaw!

by rick olivares

I’m a sucker for stories (fiction and non-fiction)
that have a military slant. I guess that’s because I have always been a
military/warfare buff.

When I saw the ad on the Komikon page promoting
Kayaw, I knew I had to get it. I am familiar with the term as my wife’s family
hails from the Kalinga region. “Kalinga” originated from the Gaddang and Ibanag
dialects and means “headhunting.” Theirs was a warrior society – and as series
writer Steve Magay aptly puts it lived much like the Spartans of ancient Greece
– and in keeping with that heritage called “takiling” – “kayaw” was the
successful headhunting of an enemy.

So I eagerly dropped by Hollow Point Studios’ table
at the Summer Komikon to pick up Kayaw.

Magay and artist Dax weave a story of the Kalinga who
are locked in combat withthe Imperial
Japanese Army’s 78th Infantry Division as commanded by the brutal
Captain Yamamoto Kobayashi. In the midst of the subjugation of the Mountain
Province is the arrival of Japanese Intelligence Officer Masamune Kamiko who
has these mysterious tattoos on her arms meaning she’s a part of the yakuza or
organized crime (that’s how it was in 20th century Japan unlike
today where tattoos are now considered fashionable).

The story begins with the bombing of the mountainous
Kalinga Apayao area by Japanese Donryu bombers while Yamamoto is torturing a
captive Kalinga warrior. Yamamoto shows his brutal side by not only slicing off
the tongue of the Kalinga warrior but also shooting a pair local
informants/collaborators who have incurred his displeasure. Yamamoto is your
typical sadistic officer in the vein of Malcolm McDowell’s evil Captain Von
Berkow in the British war film, The Passage or Jason Isaacs’ Colonel William
Tavington in The Patriot. As is with those two, you know that Yamomoto is going
to get his just desserts.

When Masamune walks in Yamamoto is attacked by the
captive who manages to free himself.

The first part ends with the Japanese readying
themselves for an assault and Kamiko revealing her tattoos. While it is evident
and obvious that the story is headed for a violent finish, it is Kamiko’s
presence that provides the additional interest.

What is her role in all of this aside from trying to
acquire intelligence? Does she empathize with the Kalinga? How does this all
end?

Magay’s script flows and doesn’t feel contrived. I
love Dax makes excellent use of light and shadow. Some panels are incredibly
detailed while others have a minimal feel to them and the uncluttered look is
just fine.

By the first issue’s end, Magay braces us for the
violent conclusion. I’d love to see where they take this and hope it isn’t
predictable. But am actually surprised that it’s ending because there are a
least several issues worth of stories here based on the initial plots
presented.

There’s Kamiko’s background that bears telling. The
lives of the Kalinga warriors have yet to be shown or even a central character.
There’s more to show with the subjugation of the Mountain Province. The
Japanese tried but then decided to hold the town or city centers.

Nevertheless, I look forward to how they wrap this
up.

Kayaw #1 costs P70 and that’s not so bad for 28-pages
of a good story.

Furthermore, I like the story that I feel is an
excellent companion piece to Image Comics’ The Mercenary Sea that tells of
ex-military smugglers running the Asia-Pacific region before World War II.